The Library of Ajuda, Lisbon, Portugal possesses a lavishly illuminated fifteenth-century copy of the popular late medieval dietetics book, Le Regime du corps by Aldobrandino of Siena. Decorated with a full-page frontispiece and one hundred and fifty historiated initials, Codex 52-XIII-26 was one of the latest illuminated manuscripts of this work to be made. This dissertation explores its artists, its production in Bruges in the workshop associated with Philippe de Mazerolles, the Master of the Harley Froissart, as well as its possible connection to the 1479 manuscript commissions of Edward IV of England. It also addresses its circulation in the fifteenth- and sixteenth-century English courts, and its path into Portugal by way of the international book and manuscript market of the eighteenth century. Additionally, this study addresses the codex's decoration and its iconography, comparing it with other known illuminated copies of Le Régime du corps, and providing a first hand overview of their decorative programmes. By offering a detailed study of Codex 52-XIII-26, and making an examination of the visual discourse of the illuminated copies of Le Régime du corps, this dissertation provides a case study for the research on the decoration of deluxe medieval and early Renaissance scientific manuscripts.

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PICTURING MEDIEVAL HEALTH:
artistic production and visual discourse in Le Régime du corps
of the Ajuda Library (COD 52-XIII-26)
Luís Miguel Campos Ribeiro
Dissertação de Mestrado em História da Arte Medieval
Maio 2016
Dissertação apresentada para cumprimento dos requisitos necessários à obtenção do grau de Mestre em
História da Arte Medieval, realizada sob a orientação científica da Prof.ª Doutora Joana Ramôa Melo e
do Dr. Scot McKendrick, Head of Western Heritage Collections of the British Library.
To Helena, my life partner
and companion of academic
adventures.
To all manuscript illuminators of the past
for the beautiful images that give colour
and joy to our research
ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS
‘If you are looking for beautiful manuscripts I have another one which is quite
nice’. These were the words that began this unexpected research project.
While studying other manuscripts of the Library of Ajuda, I was presented with
codex 52-XIII-26, a beautifully illuminated manuscript of Le Régime du corps by
Aldobrandino of Siena. I had seen its frontispiece in catalogues, but I was unaware of the
quantity of high quality miniatures it possessed. I was further surprised to find out that it
had never been fully studied, and more so, to know that the illuminated manuscripts of
Le Régime had never been the object of any art history research. Thus the path was laid,
that after many twists and turns, lead to this dissertation.
During the course of this research had the fortune of having the assistance of many
people, which I would like to duly acknowledge. First, I would like to give my thanks the
Ajuda Library's director Dr. Cristina Pinto Basto, for introducing me to the manuscript
and thus laying the foundation of this research project. Also my appreciation to all the
team of the Ajuda Library for their kind hospitality, in particular, to Dr. Fátima Gomes
for her advises on the Ajuda archives and older catalogues.
Secondly, I would like to pay may appreciation to my supervisors, Dr. Scot
McKendrick for being my gu; ide into the vast and intricate world of manuscripts and
illuminators of the late fifteenth century, and Dr. Joana Ramôa Melo, for her support and
scholarly advice. To Françoise Fery-Hue and John Lowden which were very helpful and
supportive to my questions, and to Professor Maria Adelaide Miranda who introduced me
to Iconography and illuminated manuscripts. To all my teachers who contributed in
someway for this research. I would also like to thank my fellow researchers, Begoña
Farre, Tiago Moita, Catarina Fernandes Barreira, Maria Coutinho, Ana Lemos, to name
only a few, for their encouragement and most needed research discussions; and Miguel
Metelo Seixas for his assistance with heraldry matters. To Dr. Cristina Dias and her team
for their precious help in the IRR analisys of the codex.
My gratitude to Sue Ward for her diligent revision of the text.
And finally, and always, my paramount thanks to my partner Helena for her
support and companionship during this project.
PICTURING MEDIEVAL HEALTH:
ARTISTIC PRODUCTION AND VISUAL DISCOURSE
IN LE RÉGIME DU CORPS OF THE AJUDA LIBRARY (COD 52-XIII-26)
LUÍS MIGUEL CAMPOS RIBEIRO
ABSTRACT
KEYWORDS: Le Régime du corps, Le Livre de physique, Aldobrandino of Siena,
scientific manuscripts, illuminated manuscripts, images of science
The Library of Ajuda, Lisbon, Portugal possesses a lavishly illuminated fifteenth-century
copy of the popular late medieval dietetics book, Le Regime du corps by Aldobrandino
of Siena. Decorated with a full-page frontispiece and one hundred and fifty historiated
initials, Codex 52-XIII-26 was one of the latest illuminated manuscripts of this work to
be made. This dissertation explores its artists, its production in Bruges in the workshop
associated with Philippe de Mazerolles, the Master of the Harley Froissart, as well as its
possible connection to the 1479 manuscript commissions of Edward IV of England. It
also addresses its circulation in the fifteenth- and sixteenth-century English courts, and
its path into Portugal by way of the international book and manuscript market of the
eighteenth century. Additionally, this study addresses the codex's decoration and its
iconography, comparing it with other known illuminated copies of Le Régime du corps,
and providing a first hand overview of their decorative programmes. By offering a
detailed study of Codex 52-XIII-26, and making an examination of the visual discourse
of the illuminated copies of Le Régime du corps, this dissertation provides a case study
for the research on the decoration of deluxe medieval and early Renaissance scientific
manuscripts.
IMAGENS MEDIEVAIS DA SAÚDE:
PRODUÇÃO ARTISTICA E DISCURSO VISUAL NO LE RÉGIME DU CORPS
DA BIBLIOTECA DA AJUDA (COD 52-XIII-26)
LUÍS MIGUEL CAMPOS RIBEIRO
RESUMO
PALAVRAS-CHAVE: Le Régime du corps, Le Livre de physique, Aldobrandino de
Siena, manuscritos científicos, manuscritos iluminados, imagens científicas
A Biblioteca da Ajuda, Lisboa, Portugal, possui um luxurioso manuscrito iluminado da
popular obra medieval de dietética, Le Régime du corps de Aldobrandino de Siena.
Decorado com um frontispício em estilo flamengo e cento e cinquenta iniciais historiadas,
o códice 52-XIII-26 é um dos exemplares iluminados mais tardios desta obra. A presente
dissertação explora os seus artistas, a sua produção no workshop de Bruges associado a
Philippe de Mazerolles/Mestre do Harley Froissart, bem com a sua possível ligação às
comissões de Eduardo IV de Inglaterra em 1479. Foca igualmente a circulação do códice
nas cortes inglesas dos séculos XV e XVI, assim como o seu trajeto até Portugal por via
do mercado internacional de livros e manuscritos do século XVIII. Este estudo foca
igualmente a decoração e iconografia do códice 52-XIII-26, comparando-o com outros
manuscritos iluminados desta obra, oferecendo uma visão inédita dos seus programas
decorativos.
Ao apresentar uma investigação detalhada do códice 52-XIII-26 e do discurso visual dos
manuscritos iluminados do Régime du corps, esta dissertação oferece um estudo de caso
essencial para a investigação da decoração de manuscritos científicos iluminados
medievais e renascentistas.
TABLE OF CONTENTS
INTRODUCTION .......................................................................................................... 1
1. LE RÉGIME DU CORPS .......................................................................................................... 1
Academic studies .................................................................................................................. 2
Le Régime in Art History ...................................................................................................... 4
2. THE DISSERTATION .............................................................................................................. 5
I. THE AJUDA MANUSCRIPT .................................................................................... 7
1. CODICOLOGY NOTES ............................................................................................................ 8
Content .................................................................................................................................. 8
Date ....................................................................................................................................... 9
History of the manuscript .................................................................................................... 10
2. THE ART IN THE AJUDA MANUSCRIPT ............................................................................... 11
II. THE ARTISTS AND WORKSHOP ...................................................................... 13
1. THE MASTER OF THE HARLEY FROISSART (PHILIPPE DE MAZEROLLES) ..................... 13
Mazerolles’ artistic production ........................................................................................... 16
Mazerolles in the Ajuda Traité de medicine (BA 52-XIII-26) ........................................... 25
2. THE SECOND BA 52-XIII-26 MASTER ............................................................................... 46
The master’s identity ........................................................................................................... 56
Artistic connections ............................................................................................................. 59
3. A COLLABORATIVE WORK ................................................................................................. 81
4. BETWEEN PARCHMENT AND PAINTING ............................................................................. 84
III. VISUAL NARRATIVE, MODELS AND CIRCULATION............................... 89
1. THE ILLUMINATED MANUSCRIPTS OF LE RÉGIME DU CORPS .......................................... 89
2. OPENING THE BOOK: VISUAL NARRATIVE IN LE RÉGIME’S FRONTISPIECES ................. 92
The iconography of the Ajuda frontispiece ......................................................................... 92
Iconographic connections.................................................................................................... 95
Iconographic choices: The Creation and the physician....................................................... 96
A curious divergence......................................................................................................... 112
3. THE HISTORIATED INITIALS ............................................................................................ 115
Historiated initials in BA 52-XIII-26 ................................................................................ 115
Iconography and models ................................................................................................... 116
Part I - Medicine ........................................................................................................... 118
Part II – Body care ........................................................................................................ 124
Part III - All manners of food ....................................................................................... 126
Part IV - Physiognomy ................................................................................................. 134
Additional texts ............................................................................................................. 136
4. AN ICONOGRAPHIC PROGRAMME FOR LE RÉGIME DU CORPS? ..................................... 138
‘The extended programme’ ............................................................................................... 141
5. PROBLEMATIC PLANTS: ‘SCIENTIFIC ILLUSTRATION’ IN BA 52-XII-26 ...................... 145
Accessing the challenge .................................................................................................... 145
Flaws, inaccuracies and misunderstandings ...................................................................... 146
Naturalism in the Ajuda manuscript ................................................................................. 154
IV. ORIGIN AND PRODUCTION CONTEXT OF THE AJUDA MANUSCRIPT
....................................................................................................................................... 155
1. AN ICONOGRAPHIC FAMILY TREE ................................................................................... 155
Establishing links .............................................................................................................. 155
2. NOTES ON THE PROVENANCE OF THE AJUDA MANUSCRIPT .......................................... 159
Thoughts on the date of production and commissioner .................................................... 159
The manuscript’s afterlife ................................................................................................. 162
3. CONSIDERATIONS ON THE CIRCULATION OF ILLUMINATED MANUSCRIPTS OF LE
RÉGIME IN ENGLAND ........................................................................................................... 167
FINAL THOUGHTS .................................................................................................. 171
BIBLIOGRAPHY ....................................................................................................... 175
SOURCES ............................................................................................................................... 175
Manuscripts of Le Régime du corps .................................................................................. 175
Other manuscripts ............................................................................................................. 176
Printed books ..................................................................................................................... 177
Other sources ..................................................................................................................... 177
STUDIES ................................................................................................................................. 178
DIGITAL RESOURCES ............................................................................................................ 183
TABLE OF FIGURES AND DIAGRAMS ............................................................... 185
LIST OF MANUSCRIPTS ........................................................................................ 191
APPENDICES ................................................................................................................. I
APPENDIX I: MANUSCRIPTS OF LE RÉGIME DU CORPS .............................. III
LIST OF KNOWN MANUSCRIPTS OF LE RÉGIME DU CORPS (FRENCH) ................................ III
APPENDIX II: MANUSCRIPT RECORDS ............................................................ VII
TABLE OF CONTENTS ...........................................................................................................VIII
ILLUMINATED MANUSCRIPTS OF LE RÉGIME DU CORPS ...................................................... IX
ITALIAN TRANSLATION MANUSCRIPTS ............................................................................... XLI
ADDITIONAL MANUSCRIPTS................................................................................................ XLII
APPENDIX III: QUIRES AND ARTIST IDENTIFICATION ............................XLV
Diagram legend: ................................................................................................................. xlv
APPENDIX IV: HISTORIATED INITIALS ....................................................... XLIX
APPENDIX V: ICONOGRAPHY COMPARATIVE TABLE ......................... LXXV
COMPARATIVE TABLE OF THE ICONOGRAPHY OF THE DECORATIVE PROGRAMMES IN LE
RÉGIME DU CORPS ..............................................................................................................LXXV
APPENDIX VI: INITIALS OF THE EXTENDED PROGRAMME ......... LXXXVII
TABLE OF INITIALS OF THE EXTENDED PROGRAMME MANUSCRIPTS ...................... LXXXVII
APPENDIX VII: PRELIMINARY INFRARED REFLECTOGRAPHY TESTS
................................................................................................................................... CXIX
ABREVIATIONS
BA
BL
BnF
CUL
JPGM
KB
PML
WL
–
–
–
–
–
–
–
–
Biblioteca da Ajuda
British Library
Bibliothèque national de France
Cambridge University Library
J. Paul Getty Museum
Kongelige Bibliotek
Pierpont Morgan Library
Wellcome Library
PICTURING MEDIEVAL HEALTH:
ARTISTIC PRODUCTION AND VISUAL DISCOURSE
IN LE RÉGIME DU CORPS OF THE AJUDA LIBRARY (COD 52-XIII-26)
INTRODUCTION
1. LE RÉGIME DU CORPS
Written in the thirteenth century, Le Régime du corps, also known as Le Régime
de santé or Le Livre de physique,1 was the first medical book to be written in French and,
as such, it remains an important work in the history of medicine. The book, a compendium
of medical advice and dietary practices, gained significant popularity in the late medieval
period. It presents the reader with explanations of common medical practices (such as
bleeding and purging) and the effects on health of the various types of food. Its medical
and dietary precepts, usually unavailable outside scholarly circles, made it a very popular
book. This can be attested to by the number of surviving copies (nearly eighty
manuscripts and fragments) and by the number of translations into Italian and Latin.
The book is organised into four major sections: the first deals with general hygiene
and physiological balance. It is composed of twenty-one chapters which encompass
medical practices like bloodletting, leeches and suction cups, and day to day practices
that range from eating, sleeping and bathing to travel. The second part contains eight
chapters, each dealing with one organ and its proper care. The third, the largest, deals
with the medicinal properties of foods, ranging from cereals and beverages to the meat of
several animals, and with an extensive list of fruits, vegetables, herbs and spices. The
fourth and last section addresses the topic of physiognomy and its relation to moral
behaviour.
According to the introduction and colophons of most of the surviving copies, Le
Régime du corps was written between 1256 and 1257. It was commissioned by Beatrice
1
In This dissertation I adopted the title Le Régime du corps as this is a widely-known designation for this
work and is more in accordance with the titles attributed to its copies in the fifteenth century. Marilyn
Nicoud uses the designation Le Livre de physique, which is, according to her, more faithful to its original
title (Nicoud 2007: 115).
1
PICTURING MEDIEVAL HEALTH
of Savoy (1205-1267), countess consort of Provence, wife of Ramon Berenguer IV, for
their four daughters: Eleanor, queen of England (wife of Henry III), Margaret, queen of
France (wife of Louis IX), Sanchia, queen of Germany (wife of Richard of Cornwall) and
Beatrice, countess of Anjou (wife of Charles I of Anjou).2 It was written in 1256 by
Aldobrandino of Sienna, the countess’s physician. Very little is known of Aldobrandino’s
life except that he was probably born in Sienna in the early thirteenth century and died
between 1296 and 1299 in Troyes.3 All the evidence places him as a physician in France,
probably working for emperor Frederic II (1194-1250) and later for Beatrice of Savoy.4
Academic studies
The first in-depth study of this work and its textual variants, authored by Louis
Landouzy and Roger Pépin, dates from 1911.5 This is the only published transcription of
Le Régime du corps in modern times. 6 Landouzy and Pépin made the first extensive
survey of the known manuscripts, identifying several text variants: A, the oldest and the
basis of their transcription, the main source being Français MS 2021 of the Bibliothéque
national de France; B, a later and more common version, which has different designations
of some of the plants and adds new ones and which has two main variants: ‘classical’,
regarded as the standard B text, and ‘roger male branche’ where the chapter on the cereal
sorghum is designated ‘Roger male branche’; C, a short version of B; and D, also known
as the ‘mixed version’. They also explore the content of the book comparing it to several
classical and Arabic sources: Avicenna (c.980–1037), Rhazes (854–925) and Ali Abbas
(d. 994) who were Aldobrandino’s main sources.7 In fact, as Landouzy and Pépin show,
2
This has been ascertained by a comparative study of the colophon in the surviving copies. See Louis
Landouzy and Pépin 1911: LII-LIX.
3
The author is also known as Aldobrandino or Aldebrand of Florence. Some manuscripts indicate his being
of Florence while most state Sienna. This is either a confusion between two Italian cities or Aldobrandino
was born in one city and practiced in the other. For a survey of Aldobrandino’s life see Thomas 1906 and
Garosi 1958: 135-141.
4
Thomas 1906: 455 and Landouzy and Pépin 1911: LIX. Despite apparently being commissioned by a
woman, Aldobrandino's book is directed at a general audience, dedicating only two chapters to women’s
specific needs: pregnancy (Comment la femme grosse se doit garder) and childcare (Comment on doit
garder lenfant quant il est ne). This has raised some doubts as to its true commissioner.
5
Landouzy and Pépin 1911.
6
There is a modern Spanish translation of the text (González Doreste and Mendoza Ramos 1998).
7
Namely, Avicena’s The Canon of Medicine, Rhazes’ Al-Mansūrī on Medicine, and Ali Abbas, whose
works are compiled in the Latin translation entitled Liber Regius; see Landouzy and Pépin: LX-LXXI.
2
INTRODUCTION
the importance of Aldobrandino’s text is not its originality of content, but the fact that the
author chose to write it in the vernacular and selected less common Arabic sources.8
More recently, Françoise Fery-Hue extended this research bringing new insights
to the role of this work in medieval culture.9 Her papers expand considerably on the work
of Landouzy and Pépin, revisiting manuscripts already addressed by these authors and
reviewing the classifications of the textual variants. Fery-Hue revises the variants to:
‘version A’, original version of the text; ‘version B’, which is divided into ‘B classical’
and ‘B roger male branche’ (as in Landouzy and Pépin) and ‘B short version’ (the C
version of Landouzy and Pépin), which omits several chapters; ‘mixed version’, with
assorted elements of A and B (the old D version); and an ‘abridged redaction’, which
omits some chapters and combines others.10 Fery-Hue also adds several new manuscripts
to the corpus including references to the Italian, Latin, Flemish and Catalan translations.
Rossella Baldini and Sebastiano Bisson address in more detail the Italian and the Latin
versions while the Catalan version is referred to by Lluís Cifuentes.11 Le Regime du corps
is also addressed in the extensive work on medieval dietetic books by Marilyn Nicoud.12
She dedicates an entire chapter to the book discussing its role in the genre, its change in
designation in the fourteenth and fifteenth centuries,13 as well as its circulation, impact
and audiences. She lists almost all the known manuscripts, the number of copies produced
in each century, and also addresses the impact of its Italian translation.
An updated list of the known manuscripts of Le Regime du corps can be found in
Appendix I.
8
‘Si donc maître Aldebrandin de Sienne ne fut pas un savant de génie, il occupe néanmoins une place
importante dans l'histoire de l'Hygiène et de la Diététique et apparaît comme le précurseur de ceux qui,
dans les siècles suivants, surent adapter comme lui la langue française à la littérature médicale’ (Landouzy
and Pépin: LXIX). On this topic see also (González Doreste and Aguiar Aguilar 2012).
9
Fery-Hue 1985, 1989, 1999, 2004.
10
For a detailed description of the revisions please see Fery-Hue 1985.
11
Baldini 1998, Bisson 2002 and Cifuentes 2007.
12
Nicoud 2007.
13
According to Marilyn Nicoud, during the fourteenth and fifteenth centuries, the book’s designation
changes from Le Livre de Physique to Le Regime du corps or Le Régime de Santé, and similar titles focusing
on its nature as a book of dietetic advice.
3
PICTURING MEDIEVAL HEALTH
Le Régime in Art History
All the above studies, despite their profound scholarship, approach this book from
the perspective of the history of medicine, the history of science and the history of text,
thus leaving ample opportunity for the study of its artistic components.
The images of the illuminated copies of Le Régime du corps have been discussed
only briefly and mainly used as illustrations.14 Catalogues and books on medieval dietary
practices and on medieval medicine commonly refer to some of the historiated initials of
the better known manuscripts such as London, British Library, Sloane MS 2435 and Paris,
Bibliothèque nationale de France, MS Français 12323.15 Loren MacKinney's survey of
medical images 16 includes just two of Le Régime’s miniatures related to medical
practices.17 Peter Murray Jones is more inclusive in his book.18 In his chapter on medieval
dietary practices, he uses several of Le Régime’s miniatures from Sloane 2435, displaying
a little more of the manuscript’s iconographic diversity.19 However, the images are the
focus of only a very brief reference to iconography and style. A more developed reference
to Le Régime’s images and their iconography is made by Anna Olszewska in her paper
regarding the miniatures in two medical manuscripts from the Jagiellonian Library.20 In
her analysis of their iconography, Aldobrandino’s manuscripts are one of the main
sources for comparison. In fact, the images of Le Régime du corps are often quoted and
used as a model for the study of scientific and medical illuminations, but usually the
choice is very narrow and not at all revealing of the diversity of images in these
manuscripts. Despite its wide recognition as a key encyclopaedic medieval work, no indepth study has been made of its twenty illuminated manuscripts.21
These deluxe copies of Aldobrandino’s book are usually decorated with several
miniatures, in most cases, historiated initials, each illustrating a chapter. Depending on
14
Curiously, the survey by John E. Murdoch (Murdoch 1984) does not reference any of Aldobrandino’s
manuscripts despite their extensive repertoire of images.
15
These are the two oldest illuminated versions of Le Livre de physique. Sloane 2435 is the oldest version,
dating from 1265 according to Alison Stones (Stones 2013: 299-302). Aldobrandino’s text (ff. 1-76) is
decorated with seventy-five historiated initials of great quality and contains an illuminated copy of Image
du Monde (ff. 77-132). Français 12323 is dated from the last decades of the thirteenth century. It has several
missing folios and only fifty-two historiated initials survive of the original set.
16
MacKinney 1965.
17
Leeching (from Français 12332, f. 84) and cupping (from Sloane 2435, f. 14).
18
Jones 1984.
19
Leeches (f. 15v), bathing (f. 8v), cities (f. 25), porc (f. 46v) and wine (f. 44v).
20
Olszewska 2009.
21
Here, I am considering only those manuscripts with figurative miniatures and putting aside those
decorated with only flourished initials.
4
INTRODUCTION
the manuscript, their number varies from twenty-five to one hundred and fifty. This
abundance of images presents a rich resource on topics of science and knowledge. They
are an excellent source of depictions of medical practices, everyday life, food and
animals, as well as several vegetables, cereals and spices. They offer a wide-ranging
picture of medieval life and can be considered as a forerunner to the scientific image.
Although some of these initials are relatively well known, there are no art history studies
focusing specifically on the decorative programmes of Le Régime du corps, or on its
iconography.
2. THE DISSERTATION
This dissertation intends to address Le Régime du corps from the point of view of
art history by studying in detail the artistic aspects of one of its deluxe illuminated copies:
codex 52-XIII-26 of the Library of Ajuda, Lisbon, Portugal. After presenting the
manuscript, its historiographic context and codicology, it will investigate its production
context, its artists and their workshop. This will be followed by an examination of the
visual discourse and iconography of codex 52-XIII-26 as well as a comparative study of
its decorative programme with other illuminated manuscripts of Le Régime du corps.
Finally, it will explore the circulation of models and the context of patronage surrounding
the Ajuda manuscript and its afterlife beyond the fifteenth century.
It must be emphasised that this study is from the perspective of art history and will
centre on the artistic aspects of the manuscripts. The matters falling within the field of
codicology and book history, although essential and complementary to this work, will be
dealt with only as a support to the core research.22
22
In order to facilitate the reading, the images have been placed as close as possible to their reference in
the text instead of in an image appendix.
5
I. THE AJUDA MANUSCRIPT
Portugal possesses one of the most lavishly illuminated copies of Le Régime du
corps: Codex 52-XIII-26 of the Library of Ajuda, entitled Traité de Medicine of
Aldebrant of Florence. Dating from the late fifteenth century, the book presents a
frontispiece and numerous high quality historiated initials painted in French and Flemish
style. To date it has not been the subject of any major research, at least not within
Portuguese historiography. There are, however, some noticeable references to it. The
earliest are from the end of the nineteenth century, one by Augusto Filipe Simões in the
catalogue of the 1882 Retrospective Exhibit of Portuguese and Spanish Ornamental Art,23
and a second by Esteves Pereira.24 From the twentieth century, there is a shorter reference
by Reynaldo dos Santos,25 and another more extensive text by Augusto Carvalho.26 The
latter is by far the most comprehensive description of the manuscript ever made by a
Portuguese author offering the basic data on the manuscript’s codicology, as well as a full
description of the main chapters.
Since the mid-twentieth century there have been only short references to Codex
52-XIII-26 in catalogues and papers.27 These usually feature only the frontispiece and pay
little attention to its artistic content. The latest of these makes only a very brief reference
to the frontispiece’s iconography.28 The Ajuda manuscript has been mentioned in foreign
publications, but only fleetingly. Landouzy and Pépin refer only to its existence,29 and
Fery-Hue’s research makes just a short comment regarding text variants and content.30
Only Scot McKendrick alludes to the rich artistic content of the manuscript; he also
provides some information on its provenance,31 to which Joanna Fońska adds a little more
contextual information. 32
23
Simões 1882: 182-184.
Pereira 1895: 118.
25
Santos 1932: 14-15.
26
Carvalho 1944, quoted by Ferreira 1948: 4-8.
27
Cardoso 2010: 193, and Cepeda and Ferreira 1994: 98.
28
Roque 2015.
29
Landouzy and Pépin 1911: XXIII. Interestingly, they attribute their lack of data for this codex ‘to the
recent political events in Portugal’, referring to the proclamation of the republic of October 1910.
30
Fery-Hue, 1985: 118.
31
Kren and McKendrick: 276.
32
Fońska 2011.
24
7
PICTURING MEDIEVAL HEALTH
To this date the Ajuda manuscript has not been the subject of any extensive
research. It was therefore imperative not only to undertake a comprehensive study of the
manuscript itself, but also of its decorative programme and its relationship with other
illuminated copies, such as that offered by this dissertation.
1. CODICOLOGY NOTES
Codex 52-XIII-26 is an illuminated parchment manuscript, 267 x 187 mm, with
one hundred and eighty folios. It has twenty-three complete quires, one initial binion
followed by twenty-two quaternions. It is written in French with gothic script (bâtarde)
in black ink with rubrics in red. The ruling is made in red ink in one column with twentyseven lines. The manuscript features an early eighteenth-century full red leather binding
with marbled paper pastedowns. Please see Appendix II for a detailed record of the
manuscript.
Content
Le Regime du corps is the main text featured in the Ajuda manuscript, with a total
of one hundred and forty folios (ff. 1-137v, plus 3 from the table of contents). The text is
a complete copy of the version B ‘roger male branche’ with the expected incipit, ‘Dieu
que par sa grant puissance tout le monde establi qui premieerement fist le ciel.’, and
explicit, ‘…et qui se delitte en ouyr parler de femmes’.
The Ajuda’s codex contains three additional texts which are not part of
Aldobrandino’s book. The first two, Le livre de Ypocras (ff. 138-152) and Le livre Galien
(ff. 152v-154v) are collections of aphorisms attributed to Hippocrates and Galen. These
texts are commonly associated with Le Régime33 possibly to complement its medical
advice. The first of these two, Le livre de Ypocras, also known as the Letter from
Hippocrates to Caesar, is a small compilation of medical recipes from the thirteenth
century, which had a wide circulation during the late Middle Ages, as is demonstrated by
its fifty known copies.34
33
34
8
For example, London, Wellcome Library, MS 32 and London, British Library, Sloane MS 2401.
For further information on this text see Tovar 1970 and Metois 2011
I. THE AJUDA MANUSCRIPT
The third text, De Mundo (ff. 155-165v), is a small cosmological and astrological
text in Latin. A study of its incipit35 and initial chapters identified it as a set of excerpts
of Imago Mundi by Honorius Augustodunensis (1080-1154), also known as Honorius of
Autum, a twelfth-century theologian.36 This cosmological and geographical text was very
popular throughout the Middle Ages. The Ajuda manuscript only contains a selection of
chapters from Books I and II.37 However, the last segment of the text (ff. 160v-165v)
contains an unidentified medical-astrological text that is not part of the Imago Mundi. The
text addresses the four humours of sanguine, choleric, melancholic and phlegmatic,
relating them to signs, planets and some herbs and foods. The inclusion of these texts with
Le Régime is apparently unique to the Ajuda manuscript as I have found no other
manuscript with this particular combination.38
Although produced at the same time as the main work, none of these additional
texts are included in the table of contents, which refers only to Le Régime du corps. This
suggests that they are complementary medical texts included at the request of the
commissioner. This specific combination of medical texts indicates an active interest in
the study of medicine as is also apparent from the numerous marginalia in Latin and
French. These show that the manuscript was thoroughly studied and used as a reference
book. The penultimate folio (f.175v) contains a recipe, ‘Pour flux de ventre ou meneison
ou fouir’, apparently made by the same hand as some of the notes.
Date
The only noticeable reference to the manuscript’s origin is a small colophon-like
text in the last folio, coeval to the rest of the manuscript, with a statement of authorship
and patronage of Le Régime:
‘This is the book that was compiled by master Allebrant of Florence at the
request of the countess of Provence, that was mother to the queen of France,
35
‘Mundus dicitur quasi undique motus. Est enim in perpetuo motu. Huius figura est in modum pile
rotunda’.
36
Published in Migne 1895.
37
Namely chapters 1, 2, 3, 5, 53, 54, 55, 56, 58, 59, 60, 61, 62, 63, 64, 66, 68, 69, 70, 71, 72, 74, 75, 76,
77, 78 and 79 of Book I, and chapters 10, 11, 12 and 13 of Book II. The reason for such selection is unclear,
but the interest of the commissioner appears to be focused on the astronomical and meteorological chapters;
curiously, none of the chapters on geography are present.
38
Considering the available data on the manuscripts.
9
PICTURING MEDIEVAL HEALTH
of the queen of Germany, of the queen of England and of the countess of
Anjou. And it was compiled in the year of 1356’.39
Although this information has been used by some authors to date the codex as a
fourteenth-century production,40 the style of the miniatures clearly indicates it to be of
Flemish production of the late fifteenth century.41 The script and format of the text also
concur with the fifteenth-century dating. This pseudo-colophon is a mere copy of a
common formula existing in other manuscripts of Le Régime, having no true value as a
colophon; it does not offer any information on this particular codex (commissioner,
scribe, place and date of copy, etc.). Furthermore, the date stated in other manuscripts is
1256 and not 1356, which it is evidently a copying error. In the same folio, below, is
written by a different hand an unidentified short poem and accompanied by what appears
to be a signature or some sort of dedication. These will be addressed in Section IV of this
study.
History of the manuscript
The information on the Ajuda manuscript’s provenance is fragmentary. According to
McKendrick it was part of the Library of Henry VIII of England,42 as is evidenced by the
Royal Library reference number of the 1542 catalogue – ‘Nº 1291’ – noted in the first
page of the table of contents. The frontispiece bears the arms of its previous owner, Sir
Thomas Boleyn, Knight of the Garter (c.1477-1539), a well-known figure at Henry’s
court.43 In the seventeenth century, it became part of the Library of Necessidades of the
Oratorian Order (Ex. Bibliotheca Congregationes Oratori apud Regiam Domum B. M.
Virginis de Necessitabus) with the reference number 1006-19. In 1834, following the
dissolution of the monastic orders in Portugal, it was included in the collection of the
Royal Library of Ajuda. Ferreira notes (without giving a source) that the manuscript was
frequently consulted by kings Pedro V and Luís, and queen Amelia (wife of king
39
‘Cest la liure que fu fait et compile par / maistre Allebrant de Florente a la Requeste / de la Contesse de
prouvuence Que estoit meere / de la Royne de ffrannce da la Royne dalmayn / de la Royne dangletere E la
contesse danjou / Et fuit compille en lan mil CCClbj’ (Ajuda 52-XIII-26, f. 176).
40
Ferreira, 1948: 8 and Carvalho 1944.
41
This had already been noted in the earliest text on this manuscript by Augusto Filipe Simões (Simões
1882: 182).
42
Kren and McKendrick, 2003: 276.
43
First noted by Scot McKendrick in Kren and McKendrick 2003.
10
I. THE AJUDA MANUSCRIPT
Carlos).44 While in the possession of the Portuguese royal family, it was exhibited at the
grand exhibition of Portuguese and Spanish Ornamental Art of 1882 (as noted above).
Part IV of this dissertation will explore the matter further, providing new data on the
provenance of Ajuda manuscript.
2. THE ART IN THE AJUDA MANUSCRIPT
The most noticeable asset of codex 52-XIII-26 is undoubtedly its extensive
decoration, which is the main focus of this dissertation. Beginning with the table of
contents and continuing throughout the entire manuscript, the text is populated with small
initials in black and blue with pen flourishing and the lines are often completed with gold
and blue decorations. The first folio opens with a full-page frontispiece in Flemish style
with an illuminated panel depicting Creation and borders decorated by flowers and
acanthus leaves. The rest of the manuscript is decorated with a hundred and fifty large
historiated initials each opening one of the main chapters and illustrating the subject under
discussion: medical practices, hygiene, daily activities and numerous types of food. The
decoration extends to the three additional texts each opening with a historiated initial.
The miniatures appear to have been made by two distinct hands. An analysis of
their style and their placement in the structure of the quires points to two different artists.
This matter, as well as the production context of the manuscript, will be addressed in the
following chapter.
44
Ferreira 1948: 4.
11
PICTURING MEDIEVAL HEALTH
Figure 1 - Biblioteca da Ajuda, Cod. 52-XIII-26 - frontispiece detail
12
II. THE ARTISTS AND WORKSHOP
Despite the difficulties that artist identification entails, two styles are
distinguishable in the Ajuda manuscript: a stylised depiction using clear and clean
colours, present in eighty-three historiated initials, and a Flemish naturalistic style, using
volume and colour depth extensively, of which the frontispiece image is the most obvious
example. The two styles appear to be the work of at least two different artists, which will
now be discussed.
1. THE MASTER OF THE HARLEY FROISSART (PHILIPPE DE MAZEROLLES)
The distinctive mark of the first artist is a linear style of depiction in which the
human figures have typically round child-like faces and thin bodies. The landscapes are
painted in a stylised fashion: light green grass with triangular patches, triangular trees,
and blue castles on the horizon. In indoor scenes, he frequently uses a green square tiled
pattern for the floor, and simple brownish-grey walls.
This style of painting can undoubtedly be related to that of the Master of the
Harley Froissart. The artist was first identified by John Plummer in 1982 in a copy of the
Froissart Chroniques, Book 4, owned by Philippe de Commynes and currently held by
the British Library in the Harley manuscript collection (London, British Library, Harley
MS 4379). 45 This became the artist’s ‘name manuscript’, the Harley Froissart, while
French scholars prefer the designation Master of the Froissart of Philippe de Commynes
(le Maître du Froissart de Philippe de Commynes). The artist had also been named Saint
Valentine Master previously, because of an image of the saint he had painted in the
Morgan-Mâcon Golden Legend (New York, Pierpont Morgan Library, MS M.673, f.
148v); this designation is no longer used.46 Plummer established that this artist worked in
Paris during the 1450s and later in Flanders (possibly Bruges) around 1460. A study of
his work shows that his style is of French influence and in the tradition of the Master of
45
Plummer 1982. An additional list of his works was later presented by Laetitia Le Guay, following the
work of François Avril (Le Guay 1998: 173).
46
Caswell 1985: 312.
13
PICTURING MEDIEVAL HEALTH
Bedford; McKendrick also suggested a connection to the Master of Jean Rolin II, a
famous Parisian illuminator between 1445 and 1465.47
Recent studies have identified the Master of the Harley Froissart with the known
illuminator Philippe de Mazerolles whose life is relatively well documented.48 His name
is of French origin and he can be placed in Paris in 1454 where he sold a ‘tableau d’or’
(most likely an altarpiece).49 In 1467, he became valet de chambre of Charles the Bold
and in 1469 he settled in Bruges becoming a member of the painters and illuminators
guild. He remained in Bruges until his death in 1479.50
The connection between Mazerolles and the Master of the Harley Froissart was
first suggested by McKendrick on account of a book purchase in 1479 by Edward IV from
a foreign merchant named ‘Philip Maisertuell’ to whom the monarch paid a large sum
‘for certaine boks by the said Philip to be provided to the kings use in the partees beyond
the see’.51 The similarity of the names was strong enough to lead scholars to hypothesise
an identification, and it was reinforced because the production of both artists overlapped
in time and place. In their 2009 catalogue, Hans-Collas and Schandel put forward this
attribution, but called attention to the need for further research focusing on the artistic
similarities of the two documented commissions by this artist, the already-mentioned
purchases by Edward IV and the commission of a black book of hours by Charles the
Bold.52 Schandel, in his 2011 paper, addressed this matter and reiterated the identity of
Philippe de Mazerolles as being the Master of the Harley Froissart.53 He addressed the
matter of the black book of hours, identifying the master’s hand in the manuscript’s
surviving folio and bifolium in the BnF and the Louvre’s collection (Paris, BnF, NAL
149 and Louvre, département des Arts graphiques, MI 1091).54
47
Kren and McKendrick 2003: 261.
Philippe de Mazerolles had been previously identified as Lieven van Lathem, as the Master of Anthony
of Burgundy, and as the Master of the Fitzwilliam 268 (Hans-Collas and Schandel 2009: 175).
49
Bousmanne and Delcourt 2011.
50
Bousmanne and Delcourt 2011: 332.
51
McKendrick 1992: 159, again referred to and quoted in Kren and McKendrick 2003: 261-262. For a
detailed study on the documented manuscript purchased and a full transcription of the document see
McKendrick 2013.
52
Hans-Collas and Schandel 2009: 175.
53
Bousmanne and Delcourt 2011: 332-333.
54
The black book of hours of Charles the Bold has been addressed by several authors. In 1467-1468
Philippe de Mazerolles was contracted to produce a book of hours, painted on black parchment, to be
offered to the duke. Despite the request being well-documented, the main problem resided in the identity
of the manuscript itself. Some attributed it to a manuscript of the Ôsterreichische Nationalbibliothek in
Vienna (Cod. 1856) by the Master of Antoine de Bourgogne, with possession marks by Galeazzo Maria
48
14
II. THE ARTISTS AND WORKSHOP
Despite his later career in Flanders, the Master of the Harley Froissart’s style
remained unchanged and unaffected by the Flemish novelties such as naturalism and
illusionism. 55 He shows familiarity with several locations in Paris, which he depicts
within the details of the paintings, for example the miniature of the Parliament of Paris
(London, BL, Harley MS 4380, f. 60v) in which he even depicts the famous Crucifixion
panel.56 A noticeable and important facet of his work is his attention to heraldry and
border decoration. The heraldry is observable both in the illustration, as well as in the
owner’s heraldic display present in the borders. In the first case, it is displayed among the
complex patterns of the wall tapestries of his indoor scenes, as well as in banners and
standards. In the second case, it is present in the carefully painted arms in the borders,
common in these deluxe manuscripts. The precision of his heraldic work suggests he was
a specialist in this matter, and the borders and other secondary decorations are also his
forte. He uses a very specific repertoire of flowers and fruits among which are
distinguishable the heart-shaped grape clusters on vines with green and yellow leaves
(Figure 2), blue and rose nightshade (Figure 3) and delicate red or white roses (Figure 5).
The space between the plants is usually inhabited by birds or hybrid figures sometimes
holding heraldic devices or rolls (Figure 4 and Figure 5). The decoration of the initials is
also worked in detail by this artist either in the careful application of floral motifs, or in
the occasional dragon or bird which reveals itself in the twists and turns of the initials
(Figure 7).
Figure 2 – Grapes with green and yellow leafs (Los
Angeles, JPGM, MS Ludwig XIII 7, f. 80)
Figure 3 – Border with bird and blue and rose
nightshade (London, BL, Harley 4380, f. 60v)
Sforza. This manuscript presents no evidence of the hand of the Master of the Harley Froissart/Mazerolles.
Schandel dismisses this attribution and places it in a folium and a bifolium of a black book of hours
belonging to the BNF (NAL 149) and the Louvre (département des Arts graphiques, MI 1091) , where the
hand of Mazerolles can be identified (see Schandel 2011).
55
Bousmanne and Delcourt 2011: 332.
56
See McKendrick 2007.
15
PICTURING MEDIEVAL HEALTH
Figure 4 – Hybrid female figure (London, BL, Royal
MS 15 D.i, f. 31)
Figure 5 – Green man among roses (London, BL,
Royal MS 15 D.i, f. 18)
Figure 6 – Arms of England (London, BL, Royal 15
D.i, f. 18)
Figure 7 – Initial with dragon and bird fighting a
snake (London, BL, Royal MS 15 D.i, f. 18)
As he reached the end of his career, around the 1470s, the heraldic and secondary
decoration became his main contribution to the manuscripts; the illuminated panels and
initials were left to younger artists using the already-established Flemish style. This fact
might show that what has been usually considered as ‘lesser subjects’ of decorative
heraldry, borders and mise em page were of greater importance in manuscript production,
being thus under the responsibility of the more experienced masters. It must be noted that
both the heraldry and the border decoration, as well as the ruling, established a sense of
uniformity in a book.57
Mazerolles’ artistic production
An overview of the production of the Master of the Harley Froissart/Philippe de
Mazerolles is required to understand his role in the Ajuda codex. The work of this artist
has been discussed and listed by several scholars and it is too extensive to address in its
57
As discussed in Schandel 2011: 332.
16
II. THE ARTISTS AND WORKSHOP
totality. Nonetheless, his main works will be addressed in more detail to serve as reference
points of this artist’s work (for an extended list of Mazerolles production see Table 1).
One of the earliest known manuscripts attributed to this artist is a book of hours
for the use of Paris and held by the Princeton University Library (Princeton, University
Library MS 87). Despite lacking the clear line, stylisation and formal coherence of his
later works, the distinctive style of this artist is already visible in the delineation of the
human figures, the landscape horizon and the use of green-tiled floors and tapestries in
interiors. Figure 8, Saint Lucas painting the Virgin, is a good example of an indoor scene:
a vaulted room with a green-tiled floor, little care for perspective, and hanging tapestries
of strong colour decorated with golden floral rinceaux. In Figure 9 and Figure 10, the
month of May, and the sign of Capricorn, respectively, the horizon with bluish castles
can already be observed, as well as his characteristic thin-bodied, round-faced human
figures in the image of May.
Figure 9 – Princeton, University Library, MS 87,
f. 5 · The month of May.
Figure 8 – Princeton, University Library, MS 87, f.17 · Saint
Lucas painting the Virgin.
Figure 10 – Princeton, University Library, MS 87,
f. 12 · The sign of Capricorn
17
PICTURING MEDIEVAL HEALTH
Others of his early Parisian works are Le mystère de la Passion by Arnoul Gréban
(Paris, Bibliothèque de l’Arsenal, MS 6431), the works of Jean de Gerson (Paris, BnF,
Français 909) and possibly Le livre de bonnes meurs, by Jacques Legrand (Genéve,
Bibliothèque publique et universitaire, MS FR. 164).58
His name manuscript, the Froissart Chroniques owned by Philippe de Commynes
(London, British Library, Harley MS 4379), contains some of his most representative
illuminations. These images depict historical events, court scenes and battles where the
full extent of this master’s visual vocabulary and formal style can be observed. Figure 11,
a depiction of a tournament, shows his typical human figures, thin, with round child-like
faces; the horses, the stand and the tents are decorated with complex bi-dimensional
rinceaux type patterns; the ground is decorated with the usual triangular patches of grass
and the landscape is populated by triangular-shaped trees, as well as having blue castles
on top of mountains on the horizon. The level of stylisation and maturity of the delineation
is visible when compared to the examples of his earlier works. In Figure 12, an indoor
scene, the vaulted room is heavily decorated with complex hanging tapestries, depicting
the usual triangular-shaped trees. Once again the floor is decorated with green tiles
following a pattern which will be used consistently throughout his later works with very
few exceptions.59 The same elements and style are also present in manuscripts such as the
Thwaytes’ Froissart Chroniques (London, British Library, Royal MSS 14 D.ii-vi) and in
the Chronique of Charles VII (Paris, BnF, MS Français 2691).
Another noteworthy manuscript is the above-mentioned Morgan-Mâcon Golden
Legend (New York, Pierpont Morgan Library, MS M.673-674) where he is responsible
for forty-five miniatures, one of which led to his initial naming as the Saint Valentine
Master (Figure 13).60 Here he uses several different techniques from full painting to
grisaille. The same variance of the techniques can be seen in the Bible Historiale of
Edward IV (London, British Library, Royal MS 15 D.i).
58
Kren and McKendrick 2003: 262, note 5.
For example, London, BL, Harley MS 4379, f. 170.
60
Caswell 1985: 312.
59
18
II. THE ARTISTS AND WORKSHOP
Figure 11 – London, BL, Harley MS 4379, f. 23v
Figure 12 – London, BL, Harley MS 4380, f. 10v
19
PICTURING MEDIEVAL HEALTH
Figure 13 – New York, Morgan Library, MS M.673, f. 148v
Figure 14 – New York, Morgan Library, MS M.673, f. 159v
20
II. THE ARTISTS AND WORKSHOP
Figure 15 – London, BL, Royal 15 D.i, f. 43
Figure 16 – London, BL, Royal 15 D.i, f. 117
The Bible is one of a set of manuscripts this monarch commissioned Mazerolles
to produce, in which the hand of the master is present in the illustrations as well as in the
heraldry and border decoration; other examples are Edward’s copy of the Cyropédie,
translated by Vasco da Lucena (London, British Library, Royal MS 16 G.ix), Cleiadus et
Meliadice, Historia Apollonii regis Tyri (London, British Library, Royal MS 20 C.ii) and
Jean Chantier, Grands Chroniques de France (Chroniques de Charles VII) (London,
British Library, Royal MS 20 C.ix).
In other manuscripts he delegates most of the illustration of the panels to other
artists, while he focuses almost exclusively on the borders and on secondary decoration.
Such is the case with the large number of manuscripts commissioned or acquired by
Edward IV which are part of the British Library: Mirror Historiale (Royal MS 14 E.i),
Le chemin de Vaillance, and other texts (Royal MS 14 E.ii), Wavrin’s Recueil des
croniques d’Engleterre, vol. 3 (Royal MS 14 E.iv), Boccaccio’s Des cas des ruynes de
nobles hommes et femmes (Royal MS 14 E.v), Guyart des Moulins, La Bible Historiale,
vol. 4 (Royal MS 15 D.i), William of Tyre’s Historia rerum in partibus transmarinis
gestarum (Royal MS 15 E.i), Lefèvre, Le recoeil des histoires de Troyes (Royal MS 17
E.ii), La grant hystoire Cesar (Royal MS 17 F.ii), Saint Augustine’s Cite de Dieu (Royal
21
PICTURING MEDIEVAL HEALTH
MS 17 F.iii), Guyart des Moulins’ La Bible Historiale, vols. 1 and 2 (Royal MSS 18 D.ixx), Froissart’s Chronique, vols. 2 and 4 (Royal MSS 18 E.i-ii), Valerius Maximus, Faits
e dits mémorables des romans, translation by Simon de Hesdin, vol. 1 (Royal MS 18
E.iii), Mansel’s Fleur des histoires (Royal MS 18 E.vi), Imola’s Romuléon, translation
by Jean Miélot (Royal MS 19 E.v).61 To these must be added the Soane’s Museum’s
manuscript of Antiquités Judaïques e la guerre des Juifs, vol. 2 (London, Sir John Soane’s
Museum, vol. 135) another commission by Edward IV with borders and heraldry depicted
by the master. Other possible commissions or acquisitions by Edward IV where
Mazerolles’ style can be identified in the border’s decoration are: St. Gregory the Great’s,
Homilies and Dialogues (Royal MS 15 D.v), Faits e dits mémorables des romans, vol. 2
(Royal MS 18 E.iv), Histoire tripartite (Royal MS 18 E.v) and Trésor des Histoires
(Cotton MS Augustus A.v).62
Several artists cooperated with Mazerolles in the production of these books.
Among them are the Master of the Vienna Chroniques d'Angleterre, the Master of
Edward IV, the Master of the White Inscriptions, the Master of the Chattering Hands, the
Master of the Vienna and Copenhagen Toison d’Or, the Master of the Soane Josephus,
and lastly, the Master of the London Wavrin and the Master of the Getty Froissart, which
will be relevant to the artistic study of the BA 52-XIII-26 codex. This cooperation is also
observed in books made for powerful Burgundian patrons such as Charles the Bold or
Louis de Gruuthuse. The involvement of so many artists in the production of these
manuscripts suggests a cooperative work, either in a workshop run by Mazerolles or the
subcontracting of artists for the illustration process.
61
Royal MS 15 E.iv (Wavrin’s Recueil des croniques d’Engleterre, vol. 1), sometimes quoted as the work
of this master, was not included here as a closer observation of the borders revealed a similar style but in a
different hand from that of Mazerolles.
62
For further information on the Flemish book commissions of Edward IV see McKendrick 1990, 1994
and 2007, McKendrick, Lowden, and Doyle 2011: 56-59, Doyle and McKendrick 2013, and also
Backhouse 1987 and 1999.
22
II. THE ARTISTS AND WORKSHOP
63
Table 1 – Illuminated works attributed to Philippe de Mazerolles / Master of the Harley Froissart
64
Shelfmark
Manuscript / Printed book
Contribution
Antwerp, Museum Plantin-Moretus,
0.6.6.9
Valerius Maximus, Faits et dits
memorables des romains [PB]
Miniatures,
borders
Antwerp, Museum Plantin-Moretus,
MSS 15.4-15.5
Baltimore, Walters Art Museum, MS
W.275
Cambridge, Corpus Christi College,
MS 91
Cambridge (Mass.), Houghton
Library, WKR 10.2.2
Copenhague, Kongelige Bibliotek,
Acc. 2008/74
Copenhague, Kongelige Bibliotek,
NKS, 113, 2º
Copenhague, Kongelige Bibliotek,
Thott 568 1°
Copenhague, Kongelige Bibliotek,
Thott 568 2°
Den Haage, Museum MeermannoWestreenianum, MS 10 C 3
Genéve, Bibliothèque publique et
universitaire, MS Fr. 164
Lisbon, Biblioteca da Ajuda, Cod. 52XIII-26
65
Date
c.1475
Froissart’s Chronique
Miniatures,
borders, initials
c. 1470-80
Book of hours
Miniatures
15 (2 half)
Histoire des seignures de Gaures
Miniatures,
borders, initials
15 (2 half)
Borders, initials
c.1475
Mansel’s Fleur des histoires
Borders, heraldry
15 (2 half)
Ordenances militaires of Charles the
Bold
Borders, heraldry
1475
Mansel’s Fleur des histoires
Borders, initials
c.1470-1488
Mansel’s Fleur des histoires
Miniatures,
borders, initials
c.1470-1488
Border, heraldry
1475
Miniatures,
borders
c.1470
Valerius Maximus, Faits et dits
memorables des romains [PB]
Ordenances militaires of Charles the
Bold
Le livre de bonnes meurs, Jacques
Legrand
Traité de medicine, Aldobrandino of
Siena
th
nd
th
nd
th
nd
London, BL, Add. MSS 35322-23
Boccaccio’s Decameron
London, BL, Burney MS 169
Quintus Curtius Rufus trans. by Vasco
da Lucena
Miniatures,
borders, initials
Miniatures,
borders, initials
Miniatures,
borders, initials
London, BL, Cotton MS Augustus A.v
Trésor des Histoires
Borders, initials
c.1475-1480
London, BL, Cotton MS Vespasian
B.i
L’Instruction d’un jeune prince
Miniatures,
borders, initials
c.1465-1470
Miniatures,
borders, initials
1470-1472
c.1470-1479
th
nd
15 (2 half)
c.1468-1475
London, BL, Harley MSS 4379-4380
Froissart Chroniques owned by
Philippe de Commynes
London, BL, Royal MSS 14 D.ii-vi
Thwaytes Froissart’s Chroniques
Miniatures,
borders, initials
15 (last
quarter)
London, BL, Royal MS 14 E.i
Mirror Historiale
Borders, initials
1478-1480
London, BL, Royal MS 14 E.ii
Le chemin de Vaillance, and other
texts
Borders, initials
c.1479
London, BL, Royal MS 14 E.iv
Wavrin’s Recueil des croniques
d’Engleterre, vol. 3
Borders, initials
c.1475-1480
Borders, initials
c.1479-1480
Borders, initials
c.1478-1480
Miniatures,
borders, initials
1470, 1479
Borders, initials
c.1480
London, BL, Royal MS 14 E.v
London, BL, Royal MS 14 E.vi
London, BL, Royal MS 15 D.i
London, BL, Royal MS 15 D.v
Boccaccio’s Des cas des ruynes de
nobles hommes et femmes
Livre des profits ruralaux (Petrus de
Crescentiis’ Commoda Ruralia)
Guyart des Moulins, La Bible
Historiale, vol. 4
St. Gregory the Great’s, Homilies and
Dialogues
th
63
This list was compiled using the latest data available on the Master of the Harley Froissart (Kren and
McKendrick 2003; Hans-Collas and Schandel 2009; Bousmanne and Delcourt 2011; Avril, Reynaud, and
Cordellier 2011; ‘Lexicon van Boekverluchters’ 2015). In a large part of the manuscripts listed, Mazerolles’
participation was limited to border decoration, initials or heraldry.
64
Printed books are noted by [PB]
65
(?) indicates that the data on the manuscript’s illumination was incomplete at the time of completion of
this dissertation, or it is of an uncertain attribution. The indication of ‘borders’ includes any heraldic design
present, although for some manuscripts its presence is noted.
23
PICTURING MEDIEVAL HEALTH
Shelfmark
London, BL, Royal MS 15 E.i
London, BL, Royal MS 16 G.ix
64
Manuscript / Printed book
Livre d’Éracles and William of Tyre’s
Historia rerum in partibus transmarinis
gestarum
Cyropédie, translated by Vasco da
Lucena
Contribution
65
Date
Borders, initials
c.1479-1480
Miniatures,
borders, initials
c.1470-1480
Borders, initials
c.1475-1483
London, BL, Royal MS 17 E.ii
Lefèvre, Le recoeil des histoires de
Troyes
London, BL, Royal MS 17 F.ii
La grant hystoire Cesar
Borders, initials
1479
London, BL, Royal MS 17 F.iii
Saint Augustine’s Cite de Dieu
Borders, initials
c.1480
London, BL, Royal MSS 18 D.ix-x
Guyart des Moulins’ La Bible
Historiale, vols. 1 and 2
Miniature (vol.1),
borders, initials
1479
London, BL, Royal MSS 18 E.i-ii
Froissart’s Chronique, vols. 2 and 4
Miniatures,
borders, initials
c.1480
London, BL, Royal MS 18 E.iii
Faits e dits mémorables des romans,
vol. 1
Borders, initials
1479
London, BL, Royal MS 18 E.iv
Faits e dits mémorables des romans,
vol. 2
Borders, initials
1479
London, BL, Royal MS 18 E.v
Histoire tripartite
Borders, initials
1473-1480
London, BL, Royal MS 18 E.vi
Jean Mansel, Fleur des histoires,
books 2-3
Borders, initials
c.1475-1483
London, BL, Royal MS 19 E.i
Boccaccio’s, Decameron
Borders, initials
c.1475-1483
London, BL, Royal MS 19 E.v
Imola’s Romuléon translation by Jean
Miélot
Borders, initials
1480
London, BL, Royal MS 20 C.ii
Cleiadus et Meliadice, Historia
Apollonii regis Tyri
Miniatures,
borders, initials
15 (last
quarter)
London, BL, Royal MS 20 C.ix
Jean Chantier, Grands Chroniques de
France (Chroniques de Charles VII)
Miniatures,
borders, initials
15 (last
quarter)
Borders, initials
1478-1480
Vie, passion, et vengeance de nostre
seigneur Jhesu Christ
Miniatures,
borders, initials
15 (2 half)
Froissart’s Chronique, vol. 3
Borders, initials
c.1480
The black book of hours of Charles
the Bold (1 bifolium)
Borders, initials
1468
Ordenances militaires of Charles the
Bold
Border, heraldry
1475
Morgan-Mâcon Golden Legend
Miniatures
1445-1465
Horae beate Mariae virginis ad usum
Romanum
Miniatures,
borders, initials
c.1470
Miniatures
15 (2 half)
London, Sir John Soane’s Museum,
vol. 135
London, Sotheby’s, 6 December
2001, nº61
Los Angeles, J. Paul Getty Museum,
MS Ludwig XIII 7
Louvre, département des Arts
graphiques, MI 1091
Munich, Bayerische Staatsbibliothek,
Gall. 18
New York, Pierpont Morgan Library,
MSS M.673-674
Paris, Alde, 27 November 2006, nº45
Antiquités Judaïques e la guerre des
Juifs, vol. 2
th
th
th
nd
Paris, Bibliothèque de l’Arsenal, MS
6431
Le mystère de la Passion, Arnoul
Gréban
Paris, Bibliothèque de SainteGeneviève MS 935
Chroniques d'Angleterre
Borders
15 (last
quarter)
Paris, BnF, MS Français 59
Le Recueil des hystoires de Troyez
Miniatures
15 (2 half)
Paris, BnF, MSS Français 76-77
Wavrin’s Anciennes chroniques
d'Angleterre
Borders, initials
15 (2 half)
Paris, BnF, MS Français 121
Lancelot du Lac
Miniatures,
borders, initials
1470-1480
Paris, BnF, MS Français 186
Le Livre des anges
Borders
c.1480
Paris, BnF, MSS Français 296-299
Mansel’s Fleur des Histoires
Miniatures,
borders, initials
1470-1479
Paris, BnF, MSS Français 345-346
Le ‘Roy Percheforest’
24
Miniatures,
borders, initials
th
nd
th
th
nd
th
nd
th
nd
15 (2 half)
II. THE ARTISTS AND WORKSHOP
64
65
Shelfmark
Manuscript / Printed book
Contribution
Paris, BnF, MS Français 562
Miroir de l'âme and Secret des secrets
1 Miniature (?)
15 (2 half)
Paris, BnF, MS Français 909
Works of Jean de Gerson and
légende de Ponce Pilate
Miniatures
15 (2 half)
Paris, BnF, MS Français 1021
Les Fleurs de toutes vertus
Paris, BnF, MSS Français 2643-2646
Jean Froissart, Chroniques
Paris, BnF, MS Français 2691
Chronique of Charles VII
Miniatures,
borders, initials
1470-1479
Paris, BnF, MS Français 16830
Livre des faits du bon chevalier
messier Jacques de Lalaing
Borders, initials
1475-1480
Miniatures,
initials
Borders, initials
(in 2644)
Date
th
nd
th
nd
1470-1480
1470-1475
Paris, BnF, MS Français 23963
Ordenances militaires of Charles the
Bold
Miniatures,
heraldry
1475
Paris, BnF, NAL 149
The black book of hours of Charles
the Bold (1 folio)
Miniatures,
borders, initials
1468
Prague, National Museum Library,
MS XVII E 21
Statutes of the Order of the Golden
Fleece
Heraldry (?)
15 (2 half)
Princeton, University Library, MS 87
Book of hours for the use of Paris
c.1455
Wien, Österreichisches Staatsarchiv,
MS Böhm 1096
Ordenances militaires of Charles the
Bold
Miniatures,
borders, initials
Border, heraldry
1475
th
nd
Mazerolles in the Ajuda Traité de medicine (BA 52-XIII-26)
As noted earlier, in BA 52-XIII-26 we find several elements identifiable as the
style of Master of the Harley Froissart. It is clearly his hand in the border decoration of
the frontispiece (f. 1). The acanthus and flower decoration present the usual features of
the master: the heart-shaped grapes surrounded by green and yellow leaves, as well as
roses, and the blue and rose nightshade (Figure 17, Figure 18 and Figure 19).
Figure 17 – Grapes detail from BA
52-XIII-26, f.1.
Figure 18 – Roses from BA 52XIII-26, f.1.
Figure 19 – Blue and rose
nightshade from BA-XIII-26, f.1.
The peacock, the pheasant and the partridge inhabiting the borders are identical to
those in the initials of ff. 86 and 86v (Figure 20 to Figure 25) and which are attributable
to this artist (see below). A similar partridge also appears in Royal MS 14 E.v, f. 174, and
in Cotton Augustus A.v, f. 425; the latter also displays an identical pheasant on the border
of f. 442. The first initial of the Ajuda manuscript, the only one with floral decoration,
25
PICTURING MEDIEVAL HEALTH
also appears to be his work. He paints a similar floral pattern, though in different colours,
in the borders of Harley 4379, f. 104v (Figure 27).
26
Figure 20 – Peacock in border (BA 52-XIII-26, f. 1)
Figure 21 – Peacock in initial (BA 52-XIII-26, f. 86v)
Figure 22 – Pheasant in border (BA 52-XIII-26, f. 1)
Figure 23 – Pheasant in initial (BA 52-XIII-26, f. 86)
Figure 24 – Partridge in border (BA 52-XIII-26, f. 1)
Figure 25 – Partridges in initial (BA 52-XIII-26, f. 86)
II. THE ARTISTS AND WORKSHOP
Figure 26 – Initial in BA 52-XIII-26, f. 1 (detail)
Figure 27 – Floral pattern in BL, Harley MS 4379,
f.104v (detail)
As is customary in his work, Mazerolles is also the artist responsible for the
sophisticated decoration of the initials themselves. His usual motifs are identifiable in the
letters’ framework, either in white on blue, or gold on dark red. The floral decorations
(mostly acanthus and vines) are quite common, but in several instances he uses animals
to decorate the body of the letters – clearly one of his signature images: two dragons (f.
43); one dragon (f. 49); seven birds (f. 73); a bird and a dragon (f. 80v); a dragon (f. 82v,
first initial); a bird and a dragon (f. 84v); a bird, a squirrel and a dragon (f. 85); a dragon
and a bird with snake in its beak (f. 92); two dragons (f. 98, second initial); one dragon
(f. 100v, second initial); one bird (f. 103); a squirrel and a bird (f. 105v, first initial); two
dragons fighting (f. 105v, second initial); two dragons (f. 112, second initial); a dragon
(f. 115); a bird fighting a snake (f. 117); a dragon (f. 128v); a bird and a dragon fighting
(f. 132v, first initial); two lions and hare (f. 133) – Figure 28, Figure 29 and Figure 30.
Exactly the same zoomorphic elements are used by the artist in other manuscripts, both
in initials (as can be seen in Figure 7) and in the hanging tapestries decorating the
background of courtly scenes. The squirrel, perhaps the most unusual of the motifs,
present in the initials of Ajuda’s folios 85 and 105v, decorates the upper corners of the
tapestry on Harley 4380, folios 21 (Figure 31) and 54 (Figure 32). The birds, the dragons
and the lions are more common and can be seen, for example, in the background tapestries
of Harley 4380, folios 10v (Figure 12) and 40 (Figure 34) or as part of heraldic features
such as those populating the frontispiece of London, BL, Royal 14 D.v, folio 8 (Figure
33).
27
PICTURING MEDIEVAL HEALTH
Figure 28 – Initial detail with birds
(BA 52-XIII-26, f. 73)
Figure 29 – Detail with bird,
squirrel and dragon (BA 52-XIII26, f. 85)
Figure 31 – Tapestry detail with squirrels and birds
(BL, Harley MS 4380, f. 21)
28
Figure 30 – Detail of two rampant
lions (BA 52-XIII-26, f. 133)
Figure 32 – Tapestry detail with squirrels and birds
(BL, Harley MS 4380, f. 54)
II. THE ARTISTS AND WORKSHOP
Figure 33 – Frontispiece of BL, Royal 14 D.v. The image presents several of Mazerolles' featured elements as
in the human figures, the heraldry, the animals, trees and patterns in the tapestries, and the green-tiled floor.
29
PICTURING MEDIEVAL HEALTH
Figure 34 – Background hanging tapestries with birds, dragons and trees (detail of Harley 4380, f. 40)
Twenty of the full-painting historiated initials with human figures bear his style;
they can easily be identified by the typical round child-like faces and thin bodies (images
in Table 2). Folio 8v (De boire et premierment de l’eaue) depicts a water tank, which is
drawn out of perspective, something that is common in Mazerolles’ miniatures (note the
altar in Figure 14, above). In the same image, other typical elements of Mazerolles’ style
can be observed: the triangular patch of grass at the lord’s feet, the triangular tree in the
background and the blue castle on the horizon. Identical landscape elements (including
the water tank) are present in folio 76 (De l’aue). In folio 14v (Du baigner) the pattern of
the hanging tapestry in the background is the same as that of the horse’s mantle at the left
of Figure 11; it also appears in different colours in the throne on the right side of Figure
12, and in the pink tapestry of Figure 14. The green ground with triangular grass patches
appears in the outdoor scenes in the initials of folios 19v, 28, 47, 62v, 66v, 69 and 70v.
Mazerolles’ usual green tile pattern appears in folios 49, 56, 59v, 77v and 124.
30
II. THE ARTISTS AND WORKSHOP
Figure 35 – De boire … de l’eaue (BA 52-XIII-26, f. 8v)
Figure 36 – Du baigner ((BA 52-XIII-26, f. 14v)
In some of these images Mazerolles seems to be employing models he had used
elsewhere, namely in the book of hours he produced in the early years of his career
(Princeton, University Library MS 87). The initial for the second chapter on wine of the
Ajuda manuscript (f. 79v) uses the same formula in Princeton, folio 10: a man treading
the grapes and a woman collecting the wine (Figure 37 and Figure 38). Similarly, the
woman in Princeton, folio 6, resembles the one carrying the baskets of leeks in BA 52XIII-26, folio 109 (Figure 39 and Figure 40).
Figure 37 – Chapter on wine (BA 52-XIII-26, f. 76v)
Figure 38 – Labours of October (Princeton,
University Library MS 87, f. 10)
Figure 39 – Chapter on leeks (BA 52-XIII-26, f. 109 )
Figure 40 – Labours of June (Princeton, University
Library MS 87, f. 6)
31
PICTURING MEDIEVAL HEALTH
In two other initials, Mazerolles used a technique of camaïeu. The first is the initial
in folio 16v (De aller à la femme) – of lower quality than the remainder of the initials –
which is recognizably Mazerolles’ style in the human figures; it also presents his typically
distorted perspective with the bed (see Table 2, image for f. 16v). Folio 109v (De
oignions) presents a painting of better quality of an man carrying onions (Table 2, image
of f. 109v); this figure can be correlated to those of Princeton, University Library, MS 87
and London, British Library, Royal MS 15 D.i, painted in grisaille (see Figure 13, Figure
14, Figure 15 and Figure 16).
Figure 41 – De aller à la femme (BA 52-XIII-26, f. 16v)
Figure 42 – De oignions (BA 52-XIII-26, f. 109v)
66
Table 2 – Initials depicting human figures by Philipe Mazerolles in BA 52-XIII-26
f. 8v – De boire … de l’eaue
66
f. 10 – Le vin
This table includes ff. 76 and 124, which depict human-made elements or scenarios, in spite of the
absence of human figures.
32
II. THE ARTISTS AND WORKSHOP
f. 11v – De dormir
f. 14v – De baigner
f. 16v – De aller a femme
f. 24v – En quel temps on se doit ventouser
f. 27 – Aquele chose sanssues vallent
f. 47 – Comment la femme grosse …
f. 49 – Comment on garder lenfant…
f. 56 – Des cheueux
33
PICTURING MEDIEVAL HEALTH
34
f. 59v – Comment sen doit les yeux garder
f. 62v – De garder les dens…
f. 66v – Comment on doit garder le stomac
f. 69 – De garder le foye en santé
f. 70v – De garder le cuer en santé
f. 76 – De leaue
f. 76v – Le vin
f. 77r – De cervoise
II. THE ARTISTS AND WORKSHOP
f. 77v – De vin de pommes
f. 109 – De porcaux
f. 109v – De oignons
f. 119 – De toutes manieres de poissons
f. 124 – De froumaiges
f. 124v – De lait
The same formal elements can be used to identify which of the initials using
animals and plants were made by Mazerolles. In the initials of folios 81v, 82v, 83, 83v,
86, 86v, 87, 87v, the triangular tree and the patches of grass can easily be identified (see
Table 3, below), while the initial in folio 124 (also in Table 2) presents the usual greentiled pattern.
35
PICTURING MEDIEVAL HEALTH
Table 3 – initials depicting animals by Philipe Mazerolles in BA 52-XIII-26
36
f. 81 – De char de brebis
f. 81 – De char de mouton
f. 81v – De char de bouc
f. 82v – De char de chievre
f. 82v – De char de cerf et de dam
f. 83 – De char de lievre
II. THE ARTISTS AND WORKSHOP
f. 83 – De char de dours
f. 83v – De char de connins
f. 86 – De char de perdrix
f. 86 – De char de faisans
f. 86v – De char de paon et de grue
f. 87 – De char de cyne et de hairon…
f. 87 – De char de passeret
f. 87v – De char de quaille et daloe
f. 87v – De char de plouvier et de mauvis
f. 124 – De froumaiges
37
PICTURING MEDIEVAL HEALTH
The initials with the illustration of plants presented a greater challenge (see Table
4 for a complete list). Nonetheless, in several of the illustrations of fruits, the artist
consistently used the usual triangular treetop, differing only in shape or the colour of the
fruits. This is the case with folios 94v, 97, 97v, 100, 100v, 101, 104, 104v, 105v and 106.
Similar fruit trees are used by the artist in the tapestries of Harley 4380, as for example
in folios 21, 40 and 54 (Figure 31, Figure 32 and Figure 34). This visual iconographic
correlation was complemented by a study of the quire structure that confirmed the initial
observations and helped identify which herbs and vegetables were painted by Mazerolles
(see complete quire study in Appendix III).
Table 4 – Initials depicting plants by Philipe Mazerolles in BA 52-XIII-26
38
f. 91 – Des … potaiges … de fauves
f. 92 – De chiches
f. 92v – De poix
f. 92v – De lentilles
f. 93 – De faisoles
f. 93v – De lupins
II. THE ARTISTS AND WORKSHOP
f. 94 – Dorbe
f. 94 – De Cerres
f. 94v – De vesces
f. 94v – De figues
f. 95v – De roisins
f. 97 – De poires
f. 97v – De pommes
f. 100 – De pesches
39
PICTURING MEDIEVAL HEALTH
40
f. 100v – De groiselles
f. 100v – De moures
f. 101 – De prunes
f. 104 – De neffles
f. 104 – De chastaignes
f. 104v – De olives
f. 105v – De freses
f. 105v – De corneilles
II. THE ARTISTS AND WORKSHOP
f. 106 – De cormes
f. 106 – De genevre
f. 106v – De courges
f. 108v – De … dherbes … de choux
f. 109 – De porcaux
f. 109v – De oignons
f. 111 – De espinaches
f. 111 – De betes
41
PICTURING MEDIEVAL HEALTH
42
f. 111v – De bourruiches
f. 111v – De mouves
f. 112 – De naves
f. 112 – De larraiz
f. 112v – De panayes
f. 113 – De raves
f. 113 – De fenoil
f. 113v – De persil
II. THE ARTISTS AND WORKSHOP
f. 114 – De cerfueil
f. 114 – De laictues
f. 114v – De pourpie
f. 116 – De basilicocum
f. 116 – De ruque
f. 116v – De champinons
f. 117 – De ysope
f. 117v – De cresson
43
PICTURING MEDIEVAL HEALTH
Some of the herbs and fruits can be correlated to others painted by the master in
the borders of other manuscripts. This is the case with the strawberries (f. 105v),
frequently used as a decorative element in borders (Figure 43 and Figure 44), the grapes
(f. 95v), another common decorative plant (Figure 45 and Figure 46) and the more
unusual squash (f. 106v) in the right border of Harley 4379, folio 3 (Figure 47 and Figure
48).
44
Figure 43 – Strawberries in BA, 52-XIII-26, f. 105v
(detail)
Figure 44 – Strawberries in the borders of JPGM, MS
Ludwig XIII 7, f. 125 (detail)
Figure 45 – Grapes in BA 52-XIII-26, f. 95v (detail)
Figure 46 – Grapes in the borders of JPGM, MS
Ludwig XIII 7, f. 265 (detail)
Figure 47 – Squash in BA 52-XIII-26, f. 106 (detail)
Figure 48 – Squash in BL, Harley 4379, f. 3 (detail)
II. THE ARTISTS AND WORKSHOP
In conclusion, there is no doubt of Mazerolles’ extensive participation in the
Ajuda codex. Not only is he the painter of eighty-four initials (eighty-three historiated
plus the floral initial of the first folio), but he is also the artist responsible for the initials’
frame and the border decoration of the frontispiece page. The models and iconography he
used can be correlated with many of his known works from his early French productions
(such as the Princeton book of hours) to his various chronicle illustrations, as well as to
his later works focusing on border and heraldry decoration. Mazerolles was very likely to
have been the coordinator of the Ajuda’s Le Régime du corps, as he was in many other
examples of his manuscript production. He made the greater part of the work, but still
employed at least another artist.
45
PICTURING MEDIEVAL HEALTH
2. THE SECOND BA 52-XIII-26 MASTER
The second artist of the Ajuda manuscript presents a completely different style.
Unlike Mazerolles, he uses the innovations of Flemish painting: shaded colour, plays of
light and shadow, naturalistic depictions of landscapes, people and animals, and
occasionally trompe-l'œil effects. In the manuscript overall, his participation is more
noticeable as he was responsible for the frontispiece’s panel. He is also the artist
responsible for the remaining sixty-six historiated initials painted using three techniques:
full-painting, camaïeu and a mixed technique. As before, it is easier to identify the hand
in full-painting and figurative illustrations; the challenge remains with the initials
depicting plants.
The full-painting initials with human figures (ff. 72v, 74, 74v and 102) are quite
noticeable by their delicate colours and match the style of the frontispiece (see Table 5).
In this group can be included the initials of folio 4 (De lair) which represents a landscape
(see Table 8, first image), that of folio 79v (De char de pore) depicting a wild boar in the
forest (see Table 7, first image), as well as the plant initials of folios 99 (De dates) and
102v (De noix de coudre) as they include a landscape-style setting (Table 8).
Table 5 – Initials in full-painting by the second master depicting human figures
46
f. 72v – … du froument
f. 74 – Du Ris
f. 74v – De auaine
f. 102 – De noix
II. THE ARTISTS AND WORKSHOP
The remaining initials containing human figures are painted in camaïeu (ff. 5, 24v,
36, 38, 40, 43, 44v, 53, 61v, 64v, 75v, 78, 78v, 122, 127v, 128, 128v, 129, 129v, 132v,
133, 138v, 152v, 155 – see Table 6). Despite the difference of technique, they appear to
be the work of the same artist and the study of the quires supports this conclusion (see
Appendix III).
Table 6 – Initials in camaïeu by the second master depicting human figures
f. 5 – Du mengier
f. 36 – Pourquoy on doit user le Vomir
f. 40 – garder son corps en chacune saison
67
f. 24v – Pourquoy on se doit ventouser
f. 38 – … pestilence et de corrupcion
f. 43 – bourgs et villes pour demourer
67
Despite the lack of human figures, I include in this table the initials on cities and villages (f. 43), vinegar
(f. 78), and the initial of De Mundo (f. 155) because they depict human environments or objects.
47
PICTURING MEDIEVAL HEALTH
48
f. 44v – … cheminer par terre e par mer
f. 53 – …garder son corps a chascun aage
f. 61v – Comment on garde les oreilles
f. 64v – De garder le visage …
f. 75v – De bren de fourment
f. 78 – De vin aigre
f. 78v – De moure
f. 122 – Des eufs
II. THE ARTISTS AND WORKSHOP
f. 127v – Du poiure
f. 127v – De gingembre
f. 128 – De canelle
f. 128v – De giroffle
f. 129 – De garingal
f. 129v – Du commin
f. 132v – Du sel
f. 133 – … de phisonomie
49
PICTURING MEDIEVAL HEALTH
f. 138v – Le Livre de Ypocras
f. 152v – Le Livre Galien
f. 155 – De Mundo
The initials depicting animals are mostly painted in camaïeu (ff. 84, 84v, 85 and
85v). The exceptions are the above-mentioned initial of the wild boar (f. 79v) and another
painted in a mixed style depicting a cow in full-painting over a monochromatic
background landscape as those in the camaïeu outdoor scenes (f 80v).
68
Table 7 – Initials by the second master depicting animals
f. 79v – De char de pore
68
f. 80v – De char de beuf
The initial for the chapter on honey was included in the animal depictions because it displays a beehive
and bees, but Aldobrandino includes it in the section on vegetables.
50
II. THE ARTISTS AND WORKSHOP
f. 84 – De char doiseaux volans
f. 84v – De char de coulon
f. 85 – De char doye
f. 85v – De la quenne et du quennart
f. 107v – De miel
The initials with the illustrations of plants are quite varied (see Table 8); most
depict the plant against a background of solid colour, similar to those painted by
Mazerolles. Nonetheless, this second artist often uses trompe-l'œil effects by applying a
shadow to certain parts of the plant (for example in folios 107 and 110v). He also explores
different compositions like those found in folios 98, 98v and 132 where he paints the fruit
by itself in a camaïeu style background with trees (similar to the mixed style of folio 80v);
that of folio 107 where he arranges the fruits in a triangular composition; folio 132v with
a similar composition; and also in folio 110, which depicts a basket of garlic in a very
picturesque arrangement (close to a still-life).
51
PICTURING MEDIEVAL HEALTH
Table 8 – Initials by the second master depicting plants
69
69
f. 4 – De Lair
f. 73 – [De orge]
f. 73v – Du milet
f. 75 – De Roger melebranche
f. 75 – De far qui est une maniere de ble
f. 98 – De pommes grenates
f. 98 – De coms
f. 98v – De pommes citrines
The initial on air is included here because it is not placed in any of the previous tables.
52
II. THE ARTISTS AND WORKSHOP
f. 99 – De dates
f. 102 – De noix
f. 102v – De noix de coudre
f. 103 – De amandes
f. 103v – De sein
f. 107 – De cocombres
f. 107 – De citrons
f. 107v – De canamiel
53
PICTURING MEDIEVAL HEALTH
54
f. 110 – De aux
f. 110v – De Escalongnes
f. 110v – De seneue
f. 115 – De parages
f. 115v – De sauge
f. 115v – De mente
f. 118 – De oruale
f. 118 – De nulla
II. THE ARTISTS AND WORKSHOP
f. 118v – De poulicul
f. 118v – De brote
f. 130 – De saffran
f. 130v – De cubebes
f. 131 – De cardamon
f. 131v – De anis
f. 132 – De la noix mugette
f. 132v – Du citoual
55
PICTURING MEDIEVAL HEALTH
The master’s identity
Discovering the identity of this second artist is not straightforward. While Philipe
de Mazerolles has never before been associated with the Ajuda Le Régime du corps, the
second artist has already been identified by McKendrick as possibly the Master of the
London Wavrin (based on the frontispiece painting).70 This artist, first identified in 2003,
takes his name from his extensive work on a copy of the first volume of Anciennes et
nouvelles croniques d’Engleterre by Jean of Wavrin, currently held by the British Library
(London, BL, Royal MS 15 E.iv). His works are characterised by McKendrick as
presenting a light palette in which the softer colours contrast with darker ones used in
structures and trees; he commonly uses extensive landscapes with high horizons
populated by snow-capped mountains. These features can be identified in the Ajuda’s
frontispiece, but some of them also appear in the work of other artists who frequently
collaborated with the Master of the London Wavrin, namely the Master of the Getty
Froissart and the Master of the White Inscriptions.
Most of the known work of these artists is centred on the manuscripts produced
for Edward IV in the 1470s and early 1480s (mainly secular books) and under the
direction of Philipe de Mazerolles.71 In the case of the Ajuda manuscript, the Master of
the White Inscriptions can be excluded: none of his typical bulky figures are present in
this codex.72 There are two possibilities: the Master of the London Wavrin and the Master
of the Getty Froissart. The latter was identified by McKendrick in the manuscript of the
Froissart Chroniques of the John Paul Getty Museum in Los Angeles (Los Angeles, J.
Paul Getty Museum, MS Ludwig XIII 7). This manuscript contains the third volume of
the Chroniques illuminated for Edward IV (volumes 2 and 4 are part of the British Library
collection – MSS 18 E.i and 18 E.ii; the first volume, if it existed, is unaccounted for).
For some time, the illumination had been attributed to the Master of the White
Inscriptions, but a closer analysis revealed the hand of another artist henceforward named
after the manuscript.73 His work shows a special care in the spatial setting of the human
figures, which present a larger variety of costumes and poses; the faces present softer
traces than those of his fellow artists. He also presents a subtle handling of light, space
70
Kren and McKendrick 2003: 276.
In this regard see McKendrick et al. 2011 and Doyle and McKendrick 2013.
72
Further details on the work of this master can be found in Kren and McKendrick 2003: 289, and
Bousmanne and Delcourt 2011: 338-339.
73
Kren and McKendrick 2003: 282.
71
56
II. THE ARTISTS AND WORKSHOP
and colour using a wider palette than his collaborators; the landscapes are spacious and
contribute to the setting of the scenes. Some of these features also appear to be present in
the Ajuda manuscript (see, for instance, the palette and landscape used in the frontispiece
and in folios 72v and 74v, as well as the interior scene in folio 74).
The research into both artists has been largely limited to catalogues with no
detailed studies of their production (see list of attributions in Table 9 and
Table 10). This has led to a degree of uncertainty in some of the attributions. The
discussion of the work of the Master of the London Wavrin was first developed in Kren
and McKendrick 2003 and, despite perhaps an occasional attribution, little has been added
since. The Master of the Getty Froissart was presented in the same catalogue, but it has
been addressed a little further in other works and occasionally referred to in papers.74
Another difficulty is in the collaborative nature of this group of artists. Not only
is their style very similar, but they also often work together on the same manuscript (each
being responsible for one or more miniatures). There is also the possibility that some
illuminations are the result of the intervention of several artists, one making the
underdrawings, another the figures and faces, and yet another the landscape. This would
explain the apparent mixtures of styles and forms sometimes present in the miniatures of
those three artists. This lack of certainty is one of the main obstacles to establishing
without any doubt the identity of the second artist of BA 52-XIII-26. The manuscript’s
artwork also presents some challenges: on the one hand, the illuminations of the Ajuda’s
second artist are not as rich in human figures as in other manuscripts (such as chronicles
or histories); on the other, most of the figurative initials are made in camaïeu, a technique
which masks somewhat the finer details of the artist’s style.
74
Such as Hans-Collas and Schandel 2009: 222, Wijsman 2015 and Cayley and Wijsman 2015.
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PICTURING MEDIEVAL HEALTH
Table 9 – Manuscripts with participation of the Master of the London Wavrin
75
Shelfmark
Manuscript
London, BL, Cotton MS Augustus A.v
Trésor des Histoires
c.1475-1480
London, BL, Harley MS 6199
Statutes and Armorial of the Order of the Golden
Fleece
1481-1486
Wavrin’s Recueil des croniques d’Engleterre, vol.
3
London, BL, Royal MS 14 E.iv
Froissart’s Chroniques, vol. 5 – ff. 84v, 161v,
268v, 303
London, BL, Royal MS 14 D.vi
Date
c.1475-1480
c.1478-1480
London, BL, Royal MS 15 E.iv
Wavrin’s Recueil des croniques d’Engleterre, vol.
1
c.1475
London, BL, Royal MS 16 G.viii
Bellum Gallicum (Les commentaires de Cesar)
1473-1476
London, BL, Royal MSS 18 D.ix-x
Guyart des Moulins’ La Bible Historiale, vols. 1
and 2
1479
Los Angeles, J. Paul Getty Museum, MS
Ludwig XIII 7
Froissart’s Chronique, vol. 3 – (?)
c.1480
Paris, BnF, MS Français 134
Le Livre des proprietés des choses
1465-1475
Wien, Österreichische Staatsarchiv, Archiv
des Ordens vom Goldenen Vlies MS 1
Statutes of the Order of the Golden Fleece
1470-1480
Table 10 – Manuscripts with participation of the Master of the Getty Froissart
75
Shelfmark
Manuscript
Baltimore, Walter Art Museum, MS W-305
Fleur des histoires , f. 1
15 (2 half)
Basel, Dr. Jörn Günther Rare Books
Gros-Carondelet Book of Hours – ff. 18, 138,
78(?), 105(?)
c. 1475-1485
Date
th
nd
Boccaccio’s De la ruine des nobles hommes et
femmes
c.1476
London, BL, Cotton MS Augustus A.v
Trésor des Histoires
c.1475-1480
London, BL, Royal MS 14 E.ii
Le chemin de Vaillance, and other texts
c.1479
London, BL, Royal MS 14 E.v
Boccaccio’s Des cas des ruynes de nobles
hommes et femmes – ff. 275, 291
c.1479-1480
Bucks, The Wormsley Library, Sir Paul Getty,
K.B.E.
Livre des profits ruralaux (Petrus de Crescentiis’
Commoda Ruralia) – f.10
London, BL, Royal MS 14 E.vi
Guyart des Moulins, La Bible Historiale, vol. 4 – f.
66v
London, BL, Royal MS 15 D.i
c.1478-1480
1470, 1479
London, BL, Royal MS 15 E.i
Livre d’Éracles and Historia rerum in partibus
transmarinis gestarum – f.16
c.1479-1480
London, BL, Royal MS 17 F.ii
La grant hystoire Cesar – f. 9 (?)
1479
London, BL, Royal MSS 18 E.i-ii
Froissart’s Chronique, vol. 2 and 4 – ff. 7, 206
c.1480
London, BL, Royal MS 18 E.vi
Jean Mansel, Fleur des histoires, books 2-3
c.1475-1483
London, BL, Royal MS 19 E.i
Boccaccio’s, Decameron
c.1475-1483
Los Angeles, J. Paul Getty Museum, MS
Ludwig XIII 7
Froissart’s Chronique, vol. 3
c.1480
Paris, BnF, MS Français 186
Le Livre des anges – all miniatures
c.1480
Livre des quatre dames (bifolium) – f. 1 (?)
c.1480
th
Sale, Liège, Michel Lhomme, 8 October
2011, lot 23.
75
When possible the specific folios with the miniature associated with the master are stated.
58
II. THE ARTISTS AND WORKSHOP
Artistic connections
Regardless of their authorship, there are evident connections between the images
of BA 52-XIII-26 and other coeval manuscripts associated with this specific group of
artists. I will now explore these connections using as a starting point the Ajuda’s BA 52XIII-26. The first of these connections involves the frontispiece of the Ajuda manuscript
whose model is also used in the manuscript of Le Trésor des histoires of the British
Library (London, BL, Cotton MS Augustus A.v) . Despite their noticeable differences of
size (148x110 mm for the Ajuda manuscript and 219x207 mm for the Cotton manuscript
– the latter is 2.8 times larger that the first) they are almost mirror images of each other;
this inversion suggests that one is a copy of the other (or the same template was used).
The depictions of God are very similar in both frontispieces: they display the same
attributes (the papal crown and sceptre), the same pose, as well as the layout and colour
of the robes. There are only slight differences: the left hand holding the sceptre is open in
the Ajuda manuscript whilst in Cotton it is closed; the robes in Cotton have a belt which
does not exist in the Ajuda frontispiece. Due to the differences in size, the Cotton
frontispiece has a finer detail. This is visible in the face of God, which displays wrinkles
and expression lines as well as lines in the palm of the right hand; in the Ajuda
frontispiece, considerably smaller, these are only suggested by minute strokes of colour.
Figure 49 – Frontispiece miniature from BA 52-XIII-26
Figure 50 – Frontispiece (London, BL, Cotton MS Augustus A.v)
59
PICTURING MEDIEVAL HEALTH
Figure 51 – Rocks (BA 52-XIII-26)
Figure 52 – Animals (BA 52-XIII-26)
Figure 53 – Bear (BA 52-XIII-26)
Figure 54 – Rocks (Cotton Aug. A.v)
Figure 55 – Animals (Cotton Aug. A.v)
Figure 56 – Bear (Cotton Aug. A.v)
The scenario contains the same main elements though arranged differently: a large
rock formation (on the left in both images); a large body of water (a river or a lake);
several enclosures surrounded by hedges and long thin trees (among them various animals
look at God in reverence); a bear on an isolated hill (in the foreground in the Ajuda
manuscript and in the far background, on the right, in the Cotton manuscript); on the
horizon, on the right of both frontispieces, the sun and the moon set together. Adam and
Eve are present in both images, although placed in a different setting: in the Ajuda
manuscript they are in the background in an enclosed garden one on each side of the tree
of the knowledge of good and evil; in the Cotton frontispiece they are among the animals.
Both frontispieces appear to be by the same hand. The rock cliffs are drawn in a similar
way, as are the shrubs and their reflection on the water. The animals are drawn with a
different palette but in a similar iconography: for example, the cow lying on the ground
next to Adam and Eve in the Cotton manuscript and the cow on the Ajuda frontispiece
(Figure 52 and Figure 55).
60
II. THE ARTISTS AND WORKSHOP
God is also delineated in the same manner in both manuscripts: the same style in
the drapery; the hands have long pointed fingers; the shape of the nose, eyebrows and
mouth are the same; the moustache and the beard have the same appearance. An identical
delineation can be seen in another elderly man depicted in the Cotton manuscript. In folio
25v, which represents Zoroaster in his study, identical elements are detectable: the shape
of the hair and beard, the delineation of the face and the structure of the drapery.
Figure 57 – God’s face from BA
52-XIII-26 (f. 1)
Figure 58 – God’s face from Cotton
Aug. A.v (f. 18)
Figure 59 – Face of Zoroaster
from Cotton Aug. A.v (f. 25v)
Two other connections can be made to other miniatures of the Cotton manuscript.
The first is the depiction of Mauritania in folio 354v: the rocky cliffs have the same design
as the Cotton frontispiece and have similar features to those of the Ajuda; the trees are
drawn in the same way as well as the animal in the background.
The direct connection to the Ajuda frontispiece is the monkey led by the main
figure in the image. Except for the pose, it is almost identical to the one in the foreground
of the Ajuda frontispiece; it is delineated in the same manner and uses the same palette
of colours (brown for the coat, dark rose for the face, and light blue for the belly). The
man leading the monkey presents a less obvious connection with the Ajuda manuscript:
the overall shape of his body (in particular the legs) is similar to that of the farmer in
Ajuda, folio 74v; it also has the same type of posture. In addition, the palette used in the
clothes of the man of Cotton’s folio 354v is very similar to the orange-pink camaïeu
initials of Ajuda (ff. 36, 128 and 129v).
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PICTURING MEDIEVAL HEALTH
Figure 60 – Depiction of Mauritania from London, BL, Cotton MS Augustus A.v, f. 354v
62
Figure 61 – Monkey in BA 52-XIII-26 (f. 1)
Figure 62 – Monkey in Cotton Aug. A.v
Figure 63 – Farmer in BA 52-XIII-26 (f. 74v)
Figure 64 – Man in Cotton Aug. A.v
II. THE ARTISTS AND WORKSHOP
The second connection is between the landscape of both frontispieces and the
depiction of the Low Countries in folio 345v of the Cotton manuscript. This miniature is
considered to be one of the precursors of landscape painting and it presents exactly the
same arrangement of enclosures of the frontispieces (probably representing individual
plots of farming land) as well as the same treatment of trees, flowers, herbs, water
reflections and horizon. In all of the referred miniatures the trees present a white or yellow
dotted delineation which individualises the leaves of each branch, and a rich green tone
contrasting with the dark brown or black branches, sometimes picked out with a very thin
line of gold. The taller trees are either very thin with sparse leaves, smaller with no leaves
(with an occasional bird sitting on a branch), or, contrarily, very lush and dense foliage
with more detailed delineation at the top, and more diffuse stokes of the brush where it
connects with the trunk. This last technique is used in several trees pictured in the Ajuda
manuscript in the frontispiece as well as in folio 102v.
Figure 65 – Landscape of the Low Countries, London, BL, Cotton MS Augustus A.v (f. 345v)
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PICTURING MEDIEVAL HEALTH
Figure 66 – Shrubs (BA 52-XIII-26, f. 1)
Figure 67 – Thin trees (BL, Cotton
Aug. f. 345v)
Figure 68 – Lush trees
(BA 53-XIII-26, f. 1)
Another connection between the Ajuda and the Cotton manuscripts is found in
folio 363v, representing the Saxons extracting salt. Once more the image contains a
similar style of landscape, rock formations and flora, but its links with the Ajuda
manuscript go further. Exactly similar iconography is used in the initial of the chapter on
salt (BA, f. 132v). Despite the differences in the depiction and in the technique, two of
the men in the image are depicted in exactly the same position, and the rim of the caldron
has exactly the same shape as in the Cotton Augustus A.v.76 Furthermore, the face of the
man stirring the caldron, on the right in the Cotton manuscript, is very like the face of the
man harvesting the fields in the Ajuda initial of folio 74v.
Figure 69 – Saxons extracting salt (London, BL, Cotton MS Augustus A.v, f. 363)
76
And also identical to the rim of the large vat in folio 75v of the Ajuda manuscript.
64
II. THE ARTISTS AND WORKSHOP
Figure 70 – Detail from folio 363 (Cotton Aug. A.v)
Figure 71 – Detail from BA 52-XIII-26, f. 132v
Figure 72 – London, BL, Cotton MS Augustus A.v, f. 51v
Figure 73 – Detail from folio 51v (Cotton Aug. A.v)
Figure 74 – Detail from BA 52-XIII-26, f. 102
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PICTURING MEDIEVAL HEALTH
Other artistic links can be found between these two manuscripts. For example, in
folio 51v, depicting the construction of a city wall. The faces and pose of the topmost
workers are very similar to that of the man in the walnuts initial of Ajuda. The artist of
Cotton, folio 51v appears to be the same as the miniatures previously discussed. 77
Another example is in the above-mentioned folio 25v of the Cotton manuscript (depicting
Zoroaster): the man on the right, facing the crowd resembles several of the doctor figures
in the camaïeu initials of the Ajuda (namely ff. 37v, 53, 61v and 133).
Figure 75 – Zoroaster in his study (London, BL, Cotton MS Augustus A.v, f. 25v)
The Cotton manuscript is considered to be the work of the Master of the London
Wavrin, the Master of the Getty Froissart, and another unidentified and less skilled
artist.78 Some of the cited Cotton images have been attributed to the Master of the London
Wavrin (even if tentatively), in particular folios 354v and 363; the others remain without
clear attribution.79
77
A note must be made regarding the similarities between the bridge in this image and those of folios 125
and 318 of JPGM, MS Ludwig XIII 7 (not included here), attributed to the Master of the Getty Froissart.
An additional link, only iconographic in nature, exists with the folio 250 of BL, Royal MS 17 E.ii, which
depicts the construction of Troy in a similar layout of Cotton´s folio 51v.
78
This last artist is responsible for folios 22 and 30v and McKendrick suggests that he is a follower of the
illuminator Loyset Liédet (Kren and McKendrick 2003: 284). Despite being by a different hand, the
miniature in folio 22 has various traits in common with the work of Philippe de Mazerolles: the figures bear
some resemblance to his style, the tower’s perspective is a little jagged, the ground is covered in his usual
triangular shaped patches of grass and the horizon is filled with blue castles and buildings that recall his
style (perhaps the painter was following his style or model). The panel in folio 334v has traits in common
with the work of the Master of the White Inscriptions (namely his usual white inscriptions) despite some
differences in the style.
79
McKendrick 2003: 50 and Kren and McKendrick 2003: 283.
66
II. THE ARTISTS AND WORKSHOP
The two main manuscripts attributed to the Master of the London Wavrin are
Wavrin’s Recueil des croniques d’Engleterre (London, BL, Royal MS 15 E.iv) and
Caesar’s Bellum Gallicum (London, BL, Royal MS 16 G.viii).
In Wavrin’s Recueil, the name manuscript for this artist, the style of the landscape
and the trees appear (at first glance) different from the Ajuda frontispiece, less lush with
only thin trees with few leaves. Nonetheless, the layout of the landscapes in the Recuille
is in the same style as the Ajuda frontispiece. The human figures also look somewhat
different from those of the Ajuda full-painting initials (ff. 72v, 74, 74v and 102) but within
the same general style – see Table 5. It must be noted that the palette used is quite different
from that of the Ajuda manuscript (which uses much brighter colours), which can
contribute to some of the apparent differences in style.
Figure 76 – London, BL, Royal MS 15 E.iv, f. 118
An exception to the arid landscape style of Royal 15 E.iv is the miniature on folio
120 in which the trees and landscape are much closer to those depicted in the Ajuda
manuscript, as well as with those in the previously discussed Cotton miniatures (Figure
78). The same likeness can be found in Royal 15 E.iv, folio 316v (Figure 79): the trees in
the background and the castles on the horizon recall the Ajuda manuscript, and the tree
stump in the foreground on the right is similar to those in the Ajuda frontispiece (Figure
49).
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PICTURING MEDIEVAL HEALTH
The frontispiece of Royal 15 E.iv (f. 14) also appears to have